> reporter: and that's just what senator john mccain did a short time later. he has been one of rice fiercest critics. >> first and foremost the president and commander-in-chief is most responsible and i hope the president has no illusions about our view of his responsibility. >> reporter: the president was asked about the calf. >> what i'm not going to do is to extend bush tax cuts for the wealthiest 2% that we can't afford and according to economists will have the least positive impact on our economy. a modest tax increase on the wealthy is not going to break their backs. they will still be wealthy. >> one of the most frequent criticisms we've heard over the past few years from members on both sides is you haven't done enough to reach out and build relationships. are there concrete ways that you plan to approach your relationships with congress in a second term? >> look, i think there's no doubt i can always do better. i think all of us have responsibilities to see if there's things we can improve on and i don't exempt myself from needing to do some self-ref